The St. Petersburg Police Department has an authorized strength of 550 sworn officers and 212 civilian support staff.

The department has specialized units, both uniformed and undercover, to target specific public safety issues within the city (i.e., auto thefts, violent crime).

These officers included Leon Jackson, Adam Baker, Freddie Crawford, Raymond DeLoach, Charles Holland, Robert Keys, Primus Killen, James King, Johnnie B. Lewis, Horace Nero, Jerry Styles, and Nathaniel Wooten.

After losing their case, a federal appeals court, ruled in their favor in 1968, effectively ending the department's policy of segregation.

[6] Riots occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1996 following the shooting and death of an African American male teenage motorist during a police traffic stop.